12 August It Happened Today

1822  The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereagh, commits suicide by slitting his throat.

1827  Death of English poet and artist William Blake.

1848  Death of steam locomotive pioneer George Stephenson.

1881  Birth of American film director Cecil B De Mille.

1955  Death of German novelist Thomas Mann.

1964  Death of English author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming.

2000 The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, sinks on a training exercise.